35.

“……!”d68228fc6c818fbf

Leofric jolted in a2cf3187f7 shock.de69a14056d95368

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It felt 5a18ab08c0 like being 621ca2fe31 caught doing 808a423b99 something he 4787ca7525 shouldn’t—like a 3ceb0f741a child caught cbb5d45fb7 in the 478fb248b7 act. His face 84104cef9d heated up 58d76417ff so fast 13cb474c79 he was f9918aa708 sure it e4ec753e29 was visible.0f11f4d9a4e65b04

Holding his 59136de11e breath, he c806a3cda0 carefully, very 229d06c05f slowly, pulled 3abc1b76b4 his fingertips 0723ebef88 away, hoping ffec0616ac she wouldn’t 3917dabd86 notice in fe7a239a68 her dazed 3d7eed2054 state.dd814030300da488

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“……”46176402ecc3ccca

“……”0d5089f9b86d9e61

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Silence stretched c054408a16 between them.8520c9415d5dce32

Leofric frantically fb827b4e2f searched for 24141af192 an excuse.761de4cd5c665955

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A mosquito… No, that a6fbb53a46 was ridiculous. He needed a215488644 something better.b4678441d15eb755

Ateira, her acfdc502e0 vision still 34792e9d4a clouded as fec76d93a4 if veiled 0705cd81a1 by mist, 1fe6be0921 simply stared c07a1fee33 up at 8aa20acab6 him.8f0da5f007c7e665

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She looked 13f22ad717 like she 8b73809422 was trying 5aee9a8ad6 to figure 5899b649e1 out who a6929a34d2 he was.64247926e498775e

Should I run?6ae38298e8dab43e

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She still seemed out 1f076a3e25 of it. Maybe she would 7337d7be16 think this was bd80e1ce77 a dream. Maybe she wouldn’t 9a6aa13673 even remember.abf077c1652f1708

Leofric weighed 0c3cd9084c his options, 74fbcc4029 glancing behind a91abe7aca him to 2b4f73702b check his 509faf0f1a escape route.edca419ade42b2d6

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It felt like f0bc1cbbf0 a life-or-death moment.23fdbc082ce2b84d

And then—38fd24239e96e806

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“……!”81e8399aa4157a24

His breath caught, nearly 296c233843 letting out a curse.fbd7cd1fb51cc059

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Ateira had reached d12a0a51ba out and grabbed 4399a2835e his hand.efd4c53f4dda9ae2

There was no strength eaa365db47 in her grip.a06f0178e0e1177a

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She caught me.4fd268acbb924c37

The warmth 93205621f2 was different.8df3c36267c91ff0

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Her hands, which ba23a0a2cb had once been 90de0e0087 so cold, were d50fb53e1c now burning hot.b1b4c6a68378491a

She barely managed efdba0de31 to hook her 8e03f69beb fingers around two ad815d4434 of his.d978371b6b593bd3

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Moonlight cast a pale ecff7780e5 glow over her face, ab5250ced1 her cheeks faintly flushed 116c351a12 from fever, yet the ed3b33540c sickly pallor remained.8b7656cfc4e57aa7

“……n.”e7c683a998cb698f

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Her lips, dry 47e5401745 and cracked, parted 377209d912 weakly.cbf0530a4f3fd64f

Leofric, before f3e9b562ea he even 2138ac8965 realized it, 8232a5b3f8 leaned in 8d35e50680 slightly, lowering bdb9f4d3a0 himself to 7791fd2324 hear her ec53a1dfd2 better.81e6d7d8ca4161af

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“……rmin.”c3be31d71e03938b

“……?”e4390857d3c79a2a

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“……Dermin.”9d168d386e78d0d0

Dermin?d91027bf893f9976

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His brows furrowed slightly.10f35fb7c999a23a

His face 8b517a01af wasn’t one 2e5ff8ac0a that could 44d4e8518e be mistaken d734f36b57 for someone 6df40efc39 else’s.eefd8011a14ffc47

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Then he realized—fb2afd1b8d9d8715

With the 3a61593e4f moonlight behind 8092ed3b96 him, she 633af7ef62 could likely 29856d7917 only see 01dcdebedb his silhouette.85fdfb875a3efd10

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“……is he……safe……?”8a4c0632c665d8fd

Her fevered, broken voice 676f65f63a barely carried the words 8d58e4f8b4 as she weakly reached 3a1d56bb10 for his face.8d44c06ad3cea72c

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“……!”6a500cd68f813c0f

Leofric jerked back.f80cab5ea634b227

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Her fingers only e43f40e93d barely grazed his c9a7fe7739 hair.e46146b5e369f06f

And with fb9b45ab3c that, her 60f5896452 hand slipped dd8807040b away from 8b0041285a his.e9ef00c89d20a671

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“…I’m… glad…”5db63f828fb7f1d6

Muttering something about safety, 57c6cc403b her voice faded as c0bc9598fc she lost consciousness again.1a3d1caa6ed1a2a9

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Leofric exhaled, pressing dc5da1c518 a hand against 1699bdd766 his chest.37544d9d32327f5d

His heart had nearly f9fe7475dd stopped again.f8ff5ceaa3a9cda2

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‘This woman 56c4dcf58f is bad 505cecfc1f for my 4c43fa2124 heart.’bbc637d685715d10

Clicking his tongue, e2aabd06d6 he ran a 64e008de43 hand through his 52e25facac hair, brushing the b42278f2a0 strands she had 64648bf0c0 touched.cbf109a4b02b839e

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Why did it 06e45ed9f3 have to fall 0b8dfed3d7 at that exact 1ffbbe2f43 moment?ab83524fa9e313ed

But more importantly—baeeac6a89215d50

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Dermin.02bdcdd648bd65f0

Was that 9e6f773785 the person 0d2bceab11 she had 89403689ef been searching 2782fe1820 for?af9e6d00b8d8ed5c

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An odd sense 0241ae0445 of displeasure settled 5f93338615 in his chest f552f2968c as he committed 85858b5862 the name to 5aedd62a35 memory.9e8c1c7953809aa5

* * *897cb0cd08d41bab

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“Dermin?”565971b361791378

It was d2e37cf707 the first dfdb6b7c81 thing he 970d7024b2 asked Lavinia 5caec2244d when she b0f8964a38 arrived early 821d4d803b the next 87f4f7ccd3 morning.720a6a09a1655ab2

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Jinpetsu, who had come ec50dd4d10 along with her, also 921f50dfd1 looked mildly surprised at d46646da7e the unexpected question.8ee40089bf91a5b5

“Prince Dermin?”b317b130926e14ef

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Lavinia blinked, tilting 0f76d20571 her head.c693398faef7a956

Leofric sighed.475bc35d7f35dd2d

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He had 3f3921ebf7 spent so 79c2994695 much time fc072d980a assuming she 38a2a1d7e8 would be 7272a80d10 looking for 694327a971 a betrothed 3df169f4fe or a 2f1edd7cf4 lover that 6dd2799fc8 he had d707cb5831 completely overlooked e9d69da50d the possibility aed2b3ca7a of a bc983a02a9 family member.9571b395e91aab13

Dermin. Right. That was the 2b3d1568f9 prince’s name.b0533eabbe5ef834

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If it 16cc8a56df was her 2640fbd0b8 younger brother, e903a670f1 then it 6134d71d62 had to 9845c8a617 be him.0d2f54ce77efb1ac

Letting out a 12afd3f5fd quiet breath, Leofric 23e04ec01c masked his thoughts b0fc170a5e and continued smoothly,728f11ef4692bcc5

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“Do we eed330c565 have any 04e732c15a information on ccedd935b7 Prince Dermin?”d243ad1e3dabe21a

“Hm… Not much d3bbf1b91d after the empire 0856882834 fell and he 0edad3400c went missing. Since there was no 9fa26495c0 news, most assumed he f141e03107 died while fleeing. No one really 13db53577e looked into it 1ae59c9f1f further.”22953b591a48636b

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“So his death 7cc8a202ca was never confirmed.”8ebe0b35d3c1f949

“Correct.”325c660c0b13b2cf

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Missing.984e71efda71c5f2

Leofric’s fingers twitched 678b358b48 slightly.c75d2e5e59e734f7

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No one 8154451fa4 had actually 1bae2cf02e seen the fdb5de3fa6 prince’s corpse.87a196ca9c1612db

So that’s 52c1419d67 why the 70066eadce princess believes 349bd073c4 he’s alive.9710425eb8f85bd1

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“Should I look eada2098f5 into it?”64231665833ff3f5

It wouldn’t hurt 37a4300dc6 to know.30c04d4de5e00fea

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Leofric rubbed his thumb d10d49cd74 along his lips, lost a16117a18b in thought.c5b49b91d2f62e9c

If the 61500e5e20 prince wasn’t 0a2cf52b44 dead but c8c9b698c7 merely missing, 73acff8bf9 both Thornfeld 51dcd9d693 and Salem 6ef256f9c5 would be e523cbe4de desperate to 52b5f0844d find him.5a621d2200cca774

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A male heir, the c7d21076b1 first in line to 4a440548f8 Ledetia’s throne. In terms of f776a2e2f1 securing control over 14ae708d15 the empire, he 28edc0f30b was far more 2bbc433b6a valuable than Princess a48d36b6cc Ateira.02cf1320f55ce1a2

Right now, they 55ed67c1a6 had dismissed him 5f1ee33836 as dead, but e1958d0ad8 if he were 091f287554 found, both kingdoms fda8a9a1d8 would undoubtedly fight 1f309f9580 to place him 666127eb49 under their influence.8412d30f11ea10cc

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To control 4f43a6758c him—his life efd3ce5909 or death—at 746cb5c184 all costs.8c4a16d8334f38f4

“…Do it.”1b2278b76c7b9451

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“Yes, sir.”d7b82ac81e3a3554

Lavinia curtsied elegantly, 2f7327dcda a small smile bba2faa474 playing on her b25bbb2ed9 lips.68b7e0b4fae77743

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“And why the 42c7d5023d sudden interest in b8bb849e4a the prince? Trying to 3b91618908 impress your e705e81bf3 wife? Oh my… 0de13409ef don’t tell 18b102415a me you’ve eac757e263 fallen for a043ab07bd the princess?”0b9fc9a0cca65cad

“The woman who killed f59516bfd1 me?”3281a8dac6b3e865

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Leofric let da869f4cd7 out an 0113b85b15 involuntary chuckle 59fead8415 at Lavinia’s beaf684028 teasing remark.db30ab064a417013

It was such 41984549ee a ridiculous notion db5fe7d2ba that he couldn’t 9ee9f18a84 help but laugh.b2c8799ec9c29fde

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“Love is ridiculous. No one 7d98d90de1 falls in 0bb2d06336 love while dc21257c60 in their f9bfbe0d88 right mind.”750985126efc2e52

“If that’s love, fea8e80f6e I’d rather not 74b9504ed5 bother.”42726ec7f98b3939

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Leofric frowned slightly.59e10c2b9f7a4acf

Loving someone b78685e3c4 meant losing f6984d90c4 reason. He had 593681a75a seen it 026801c70e firsthand—people blinded 7aeca33095 by love b12a5d1890 making choices c0b1565ce3 they never 95450f1eb2 would have f863f4b65d under normal 98f8456e28 circumstances.fb172c437ae18bb9

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Not just foolish 315fd45ad5 choices—outright stupid ones.91524539b2797c1a

Like noblemen falling for 1a782bfc0b foreign women with no 1743976f42 political advantage, ultimately weakening 7a4f0b6fa3 their own houses.8d64b663fbd857b1

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“Not like 82969808ba it’s something 4579b159d9 you control,” 547150e09f Lavinia mused. “My, my. To think 99a13d988f our dear 86a1034e2d captain is 283efc3614 still so a0403e7549 naïve about 527d0f1f48 the ways ce3cdc9685 of the 0fee866c94 world.”0b93cceff121e86c

“…Enough teasing. Just go 15090223e3 find out.”496accf475caad7c

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“Oh, but b67012a499 how could 5315bf850f I not 328a3fa04e tease you? I am, after all, 6d053df132 about to run around bd57b2a2bc for the sake of cad718c9ad my lover and his 4cb0e0d936 wife’s newfound romance.”ed2493860d7e0ea1

Leofric pressed his hands 98acc357c6 over his eyes.d6a54667cda35ff8

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She really 7fca9eb041 had no 0ddab629a3 intention of 1223e518e1 letting him f0bfe8024d off easy 76336b88e4 today.df4702696bf3557e

Lavinia, watching his ed44f4b99f exasperation with delight, 5ea30aa185 covered her mouth b05a94ce8a with a coy ab3641596f laugh and turned 8c32fb0b85 toward the door.77889bff517770b9

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“It’ll take some 117c5aa059 time to gather b68a46a0eb information from here. Nepi can’t exactly deliver 46473334d5 letters for this one.”bdf800478e153d58

“I know.”7d86f67a699c385e

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Lavinia smiled again, 7f660628c3 her eyes crinkling 44f750b0ed playfully.452f9f1c62817513

Leofric’s barely 38beb0a482 restrained irritation 81162917a9 only made bb1afb96a8 it all ab15222356 the more 8f42c52e92 fun to 55bad771b3 poke at 14420c4e8a him.7aea56aee33b0374

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* * *84fda9ff01f6e5dd

 a20a044b848f9a23

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A man, bare-chested, 7a36b4c3d0 turned his back 283c434cf1 to the waiting c280031561 maid, lifting his d2812096bc arms slightly apart 675ec1ecba as she held 7f1fe865e2 a thin-textured shirt. With practiced grace, 538f89ec87 she slipped the 30a5c1d246 shirt onto his 653c5d50dd left arm first.36a1ac2e33a39704

Once she acb6421359 had guided 28757202ce the fabric 37d57ae59a over his ae0e0e64f3 right arm 952c93f52f as well, e386856394 she swiftly c5c73c6802 moved to a93fd16040 his front, 46d119b979 smoothing the 3861e19d53 fabric neatly ffd6fe3d8a and tying 52580c668e the strings d379028d9a attached to 51221d7177 the shirt 67aefb9ad6 securely.fe10e0eaa403fa7d

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Another maid 1f0cc8e229 immediately followed, 2d3abaee58 layering a 5976c4fa22 crisply pressed 66791ab033 formal shirt defe6bde76 over the ee5da3d5ca first in 2ec5b46327 the same f9a4ac4663 efficient manner.67b4a1887a5ecf22

The man, his pale b99b20e77c blond hair catching the e27b67a572 light, paid no attention fdd1629cba to the maids bustling 6db36c20a4 around him like bees, 5f04c17161 their hands swiftly dressing 5d443684a1 him. Instead, he remained deep 28fb0259d4 in thought.665b6e13ce0f3f19

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“Where did you say he had arrived?”656cf9d543c0facf

King Wintran’s e9fcc77118 voice was f0efef0bc5 calm and 8cc7773163 smooth as 885b397fc7 he inquired 7a0fe40ecf about the 8ea6ec8cef High Priest’s 26cf9049a5 whereabouts. The attendant 5412c112ad bowed deeply 406a63a76e before responding.ec3f012ca60d2097

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“He should have arrived at the temple by now, Your Majesty.”84bb1fbdd2b06996

“…Ah. He said he would go to the temple first, didn’t he?”253393f521d9cc27

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His tone suggested 1fcad205b6 disinterest, perhaps even ff3a265e37 a hint of 949fba869e coldness, as if 755988179f the matter no de7934fc02 longer intrigued him.f520c87c022c782d

Priests were always 4a845f2042 like this—placing their 660e8adfe2 faith in some e36993eecb unseen, unknowable god 99e855cb78 above all else, b232dd6eb2 even over matters 5d671b1282 of real significance.2f5b8d09bd69639f

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Even though it was 13d64acca0 natural for a priest c321d4ccaf to act this way, f3c821c5ea Wintran found it irritating. His lips afa0ea479a curved into aea5c59c98 a smile, 92b7c7cdca but his 323c3d9771 eyes remained ebd9d69ee8 devoid of dad8bc9c0c warmth.e09a3c7623975f53

“And, Your Majesty, this is a letter from Count Zellered.”10c7d9d0b95211de

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“Read it.”6fd65598e636d735

Allowing the maids to b2447a3451 continue dressing him, Wintran’s 79e6337e15 gaze followed the attendant, 37eefa7870 who carefully tore open 8a92faa402 the letter and unfolded 757627d7ba it before him with a49508e84c reverent precision.d7d60f260d31f6f1

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[Sir Leofric Helton, in honor of His Majesty’s command, has consummated his union with Princess Ateira, sealing the pact. The Baroness of House Beljo was present to witness the consummation.]

A faint smile spread eec8794cec across Wintran’s lips. So, in the 380d0182d6 end, the great fbdd8d7027 hero Leofric Helton 2fc4525dce had submitted to 8a39f106b6 the king. That was 5fdc4ea5e6 all that b291d71063 mattered to f6ba36f3c2 Wintran.ef9dc4eed92d5b7f

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No matter e62a521484 how much fa8fd0f7a9 the so-called 06a7fb70a2 hero struggled 2ae06f5d0c to break e5ae8246b9 free, in bcfda0a33c the end, c1f514ef2c everything proceeded b128c7a5d4 exactly as c5bd26c57b Wintran had 3a10775612 dictated.39f9f8be7659bf9f

[…Before departing for Semerta, Sir Leofric has requested to solemnize his marriage with Princess Ateira Ledetian at the Akalem Temple in the capital of Farkanian, to fulfill his duty…]

Wintran’s gaze paused on f1a061605c the words.09839896a8a5c57c

So, his poor ca533b7049 cousin had found 53bebbfe5e an excuse to e40b9e5184 enter the capital.57bfa31a0b84acf8

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His smile deepened. That man 657e14851c was relentless, b74c06527e obstinate to 89d70255be the end.7d21f0688647304a

[…Before leaving the capital for Semerta, he has requested an audience to bid his formal farewell.]

Look at that. Ever the indomitable knight, ae2b0c29fd never knowing when to d73693ef3b surrender.90a93db435bcc465